Auburn's Bruce Pearl joins top coaches from Division II and Division III on court at halftime to be honored for winning coac of the year award. That's not awkward at all. Nope. Not a bit.
HALF: Duke 34, Houston 28. Cougars hit 3 3-pointers in the final 1:43 to cut into what had been a 12-point Blue Devils lead. Houston had been ice cold but finished half 9-29 to, uh, improve to 31%.
Houston used a 6-0 run to climb within three points but Duke has pushed the lead back to 28-17 with 2:36 left in the first half. Blue Devils have received KEY minutes from Caleb Foster, who has four rebounds, an assist and no turnovers in 10 minutes The fact that he's scoreless is irrelevent.
Maliq Brown is like a hockey player..always getting the greasy areas to make plays
Duke up 16-9 during a timeout with 10:47 left in the first half. Houston struggling on offense (3 of 16, with three turnovers). Blue Devils getting strong play off bench from Caleb Foster, who already has three rebounds. This has given Flagg a break on the bench. Same with Maluach and James
Duke's last basket, off a pass from the free throw line from Pat Ngongba to a back-door cutting Kon Knueppel, will be something to watch for next season. KK won't be on team, of course, but Ngongba should be getting plenty of run. He's skilled.
Back-and-forth action caused Duke and Houston to blow through the under-16 timeout and take their first break at 11:51. So we'll be having two breaks in short order, almost like a quarter break if college basketball had those. Anyway...Houston has started 3 of 15 from the field and Duke leads 14-8
Duke needs its defensive wild card to be at its best, but the risk of Maliq Brown reinjuring his shoulder again is never far away. Neither is the end of Duke’s season, one way or another.
“That’s been a balancing act for me, to be honest,” Jon Scheyer said.
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Caleb Love def. Duke, 2022/Duke def. Caleb Love, 2025
A game of inches
@tinsnow12.bsky.social photos
Is Gary Williams involved?? #sabotage
In a foul-ridden game, No. 1 Duke survived a Caleb Love-inspired Arizona rally in the second half to oust the No. 4 Wildcats and advance to The NCAA Tournament’s Elite 8.
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Maliq Brown checking in at 7:51 of first half after Pat Ngongba picked up his 3rd foul. Maluach already on bench with 2 fouls. Duke up 24-21
For the record, Caleb Love has "Philippians 4:13" and "TV" written on his shoes tonight, not "Tar Heel 4L"
Tyrese Proctor has scored Duke's last seven points. Duke up 17-16. Bench players in: Evans, Ngongba, Foster. No Gillis or Brown as of yet.
As expected first player off Duke's bench to enter is...Pat Ngongba. Caution surrounds Maliq Brown, although he's in uniform and available.
Arizona leads 13-10 at first timeout, having made 5 of first 7 shots (3-3 on 3s)
Alabama has as many made 3's in Newark tonight as Seton Hall had in their last five home games combined in that building.
Jon Scheyer talked to his newly constructed Duke basketball team about Kaizen, the Japanese philosophy of steady, incremental improvement last summer. That foundation took root and the players continue to follow it as they chase more championships.
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Cheers erupt from Duke fans when UNC game is shown on videoboard at halftime. Ole Miss up 11-2 over the Tar Heels. Conference pride takes a back seat in this neighborhood
Halftime: Duke 54, Mount St. Mary's 28.
Duke shooting 60.6%....with one turnover. Tyrese Proctor leads Blue Devils with 13 points. Flagg has nine with two rebounds and two assists in 13 minutes. Even did the halftime interview with CBS already. He's fine. Everything's fine, for Duke.
“I love Spencer, man, and our guys, the way they respond to him." Great story by @shelbyswanson.bsky.social and photos by @tinsnow12.bsky.social on the beloved shortest member of the very tall Duke basketball team. www.newsobserver.com/sports/colle...
Also, just to log this in, Maliq Brown is not in uniform again today. On bench but not using sling. Shoulder healing again. Wants to play again this year. But....
Duke up 28-12 with 9:50 left in first half. Blue Devils have already used nine players. Players with most minutes thus far? Flagg, James, Knueppel and Ngongba (!!) with 7. Spreading out the time
With Duke up 13-2, Scheyer removed Flagg prior to the under-16 timeout. He's moving well. Caution
Hello from Lenovo Center, where Duke will play Mount St. Mary's in about 10 minutes. Cooper Flagg in starting lineup for Blue Devils
To earn success initiatives, you need.....success. Oops
Who will make it to the Final Four?
We asked a whole bunch of national college basketball experts — and several from around the state of Kentucky — to give us their predictions.
Here's what they all came up with: www.kentucky.com/sports/colle...
The last team in the field and the subject of plenty of criticism the past two days, UNC put the hammer down early to win its First Four matchup against San Diego State.
www.newsobserver.com/sports/colle...
A UNC fan behind the basket is wearing a shirt in Carolina blue that reads "The 104K Bubba Cunningham Advantage" with a Jordan logo. Says he made it himself.
(The number refers to Cunningham's bonus if UNC makes the NCAA tournament.)
UNC is making shots (6-9), crashing the boards ... and would have more than a 16-11 lead if it didn't keep turning the ball over (six in eight minutes).
Friday vs. Duke: 3-17 from 3
Tonight: 4-4
